Anglo-Saxon Era
Posts in The Copybook tagged ‘Anglo-Saxon Era’
The mild-mannered, artistic monk was nevertheless a founding father of the English nation.
St Bede of Jarrow (673-735) could claim to be one of founding Fathers of the English nation: his ground-breaking ‘History’ helped create a sense of national identity and Christian culture. Artistic yet scientific, jealous of Northumbrian sovereignty yet appreciative of European culture, he exemplifies all that is best in the English people.
After the Norman Conquest, thousands of disappointed Englishmen departed for a new life in the Byzantine world.
When William, Duke of Normandy, seized the English crown from Harold Godwinson in 1066, many Englishmen were unwilling to recognise their new Norman overlords. They turned first to friends in Scandinavia; when that failed, some set sail for Constantinople in the hope of enlisting the support of the Roman Empire.
The Cross of Christ speaks, and tells of the amazing transformation from sign of shame to sign of redemption.
‘The Dream of the Rood’ is an Anglo-Saxon poem, possibly composed by the 8th century bishop Cynewulf of Lindisfarne, in the Kingdom of Northumbria. The poet imagines what the Cross of Christ might say of that momentous Friday, when he who hung the earth upon the waters hung upon the cross.
When Penda tried to burn down Bamburgh Castle, St Aidan turned the pagan King’s own weapons against him.
St Aidan (?590-651) came from the island of Iona to Northumbria during the reign of King Oswald, and remained there under Oswald’s successors until his death in 651. He settled himself on the island of Lindisfarne.
Even as a child, King Alfred couldn’t resist a challenge.
Alfred the Great was King of Wessex in southern England, from 871 to 899. By reclaiming the Midlands and East Anglia from pagan Danish invaders, he took a giant step towards the formation of a Kingdom of England, and ensured it would be a civilised, enlightened, Christian land.
Forced from his throne and threatened with murder, Edwin makes a curious bargain for his deliverance.
Deprived of his throne in about 604, King Edwin of Deira and Bernicia — later known as Northumbria — fled York and went south to Mercia, only to find his usurper, brother-in-law and mortal enemy, Æthelfrith, still pursuing him to the death. But a night-time visitor gave him a new hope, and a curious sign to remember it by.